Diversion? Intervention? Huh?

Soon after I moved here, I was the lucky recipient of three speeding tickets, driving with a suspended license, and having out of state plates. Two of the tickets were from a camera (!!!), taken when I was driving back and forth to Oro Valley. I was trying to get a job at a Wal-Mart there, of all places. Two interviews and I didn't get the job. But that's another story. I got a speeding ticket back in Michigan, right before we left for Arizona (detailed here), and we didn't have the money to pay it. Even though my mail was forwarded to Arizona, I was not informed that my license was suspended due to non-payment. So I was pulled over for speeding (43 in a 30). The speed limit had changed from 40 to 30, and I hadn't noticed the change. But yes, I do have a bit of a lead foot. The policeman saw my license was suspended, and that we still had Michigan plates. I got a ticket, and the car was impounded. Yes, they took it away right then and there. We were about ten miles from home with three kids, in the blazing Arizona sun. The officer was nice enough to pay for a cab for us, since we didn't have money for the fare.

We registered the car, and I got my Arizona license (I wrote about that here). We were then able to get it out of the impound. I never blogged about the car being impounded. I was just too upset to even mention it. It was bad enough for us having to deal with that, but writing it down would've been even worse. I was feeling a lot of guilt at the time, and I still do feel quite a bit. I caused so much trouble for us, and it's not even over yet. We have to pay $50 a month for the next year in order to pay off the two camera tickets. As for the suspended license charge, well... that is the subject of this post.

I had to take a class at Southwestern Intervention Services. For more information on diversion/intervention, click here. I went down a week ago, but I was about 10 minutes late. There was a "closed" sign on the door, and the door seemed to be locked. I called their number, but there was no answer. I then thought that they class was being held somewhere else. I called back on Monday, and their phone was disconnected. Huh? They have our $200 payment! I went down there, and they were indeed there, and their phones had been out. They did have the class there two days before. They always keep the closed sign up on the weekends, and sometimes the door sticks. Agggghhhh! I drove 10 miles there for nothing. Well, I got it right last Saturday.

I figured the class would be boring as hell, and they would be telling me things I already know. (I was mostly right.) I brought a notebook to write about my experience in this class. Here's what I wrote:

I'm sitting here in this intervention class. In court, they called it diversion. You could plead guilty, not guilty, or diversion. I had no idea about such a thing when I went in there, but the officer explained it to us, and I claimed diversion. With diversion, you don't have to pay the fines and/or do jail time, and the charge is taken off your record. To do this, you need to take a class, which costs $200. I traded a $700 - $800 fine and a misdemeanor on my record, for a $200 charge and a few hours of my time.

The class has yet to begin. It runs from 1 PM to 5 PM. I arrived at about 12:45. The lady I spoke to last time told me to come early to get a good seat. Well... they wouldn't let us in until 1 PM. Oh well. I still got a good seat. At 1 PM, they let us in, we signed in a clipboard at the desk, and they made photocopies of our IDs. There are only four desks here, and the rest are chairs. I was fortunate to get a desk so that I could write all this.

So here I am. On the overhead projection screen is written, "Southwestern Intervention Services," and in much bigger letters, "Driving On a Suspended License." It appears we're all here for the same violation. Interesting. There are 27 people here so far (including me). Only 7 of those people are women (ditto). I also find that interesting. Either women don't drive on a suspended license nearly as much as men, or they do and just don't get caught. You know, if Michigan had sent something in the mail, informing me that my license had been suspended, all this would've never happened.

Now we're going around the room and introducing ourselves, and how we got caught with this violation. People were pulled over for speeding, having their headlights off at night, parking in a handicapped spot, having a cracked windshield, license plate wasn't reflecting right (?), window tinted too dark, running a red light, and having a tail light out. The officer ran their records and found that their license was suspended. This one man said he was riding a motorized bicycle, and if the motor is above a certain size (50 cc's, he claimed), you need a license and registration for it. He was going 35 in a 20. You can ride faster than 20 with a regular bike and not get a ticket. Ridiculous!

Interstate compacts. If your license is suspended in another state, they will contact your home state, and your license will be suspended there. No kidding. The kicker is, the instructor showed us a chart of 46 states that take part in the compact. Michigan wasn't on there. He said that the slide was made up a year ago, and now all states are onboard with this.

We took a 15 minute break, and I went to the liquor store to get a snack. I splurged and bought a bag of Salsa Verde Doritos (I haven't been able to find the Habanero flavor for months! Waaaah!), and a tall can of Arizona Watermelon Fruit Juice Cocktail. $1.98. Big spender here!

Now we're watching this depressing video. People speeding or driving recklessly, and then getting killed, or killing bystanders. Real heavy on kids and young lovers. They're playing My Immortal by Evanescence. This reminds me of that dream I blogged about a few months ago. So sad. There are a bunch of guys laughing and saying things like, "Oh, man!" Nice. I can never relate to people like that.

Before and after the video, we were viewing some slides while the instructor read them aloud. He does add a bit of his own anecdotes, and he has a personality, at least.

Now we're watching some video about street racing. Yeah, I do this all the time. It's actually just images of totaled cars. I don't know the song, but it sounds like nu-metal. The singer keeps saying, "I don't want to face."

And now we're watching a video about road rage. He handed us a test of some kind. I filled it out before the video started. "Road rage is something learned in adulthood. True/False." I answered "true," since one must be at least near adulthood in order to drive. I got that one wrong. The video stated that road rage is due to bad habits formed during childhood. I can buy that. I answered all the other questions correctly. This was the longest video yet. No music, but rather narration, and some interviews with victims of road rage.

It's 3:30 PM now, and we're in the middle of another 15 minute break. We're going into "DUI and Accidents" next.

Class is back in session. Another little video. This one is like a news report. I learned that in 19 states (including Arizona), you'll have an ignition interlock for one year if convicted of a DUI offense. A breathalyzer would be hooked in to the ignition of your car. It won't start unless you're under the specified alcohol level. You would also have to periodically breathe into the device while driving. This is one interesting thing that I learned today. I had no idea there were such devices.

He's showing us the last video now. He said it's about 15 minutes long, and that if you're squeamish, you can step out into the hall. Wow. After this, I can get my certificate for the class and head on home. Yay! Anyway, this one is called "Red Asphalt V." (Here's a preview of Red Asphalt V, and here's a YouTube video of Red Asphalt III.) This guy spouting out drunk driving statistics looks like the actor from Dexter, only younger. "This is how it went down," he says. There's a bunch of interviews with survivors of car accidents, and their families. They're showing a lot of dead bodies and bloodied people. Some of these clips were filmed during the day, and some bodies were illuminated by flashlight. So far, nobody in the class is laughing. They're showing quite a few tombstones also. Someone's arm was torn off and lying in the road. Yeah, they showed that.

Red Asphalt is also a PlayStation video game. One guess as to where Interplay got their inspiration from...

I stopped writing here. After that cheery video, they gave us our certificates. You've seen me holding it, but here it is up close:

I just bring this to court next month and then I'm done. I'm glad that it's over, sheesh!

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Driver License Redux!

I have to be an old pro at this by now. I've now gotten three different driver licenses in three different states, all with my preferred name (legal for three years now), and with an 'F' for the gender marker. Arizona was the easiest of them all. You can read about how I got my New York license here (July, 2007) and how I got my Michigan license here (July, 2009). I was a month late this time, but it does seem to be a summer thing, doesn't it?

In both New York and Michigan, I was denied the 'F' gender marker, yet got it at another Motor Vehicle office. Here in Arizona, I didn't even have to bring my birth certificate. I had it stowed away in a folder just in case (along with the court document for my name change), but ALL they needed was a copy of my Michigan license and my social security card. I was sure they were going to see my old name or the gender marker under the Social Security Administration, but nope. I was told to walk to the other side of the lobby to get my photo taken. My name was called before I even got a chance to cross the lobby. I got a FULL driver license, none of that temporary ID nonsense, where you wait for the actual license with photo to arrive in the mail. They made it up right there and handed it to me. And it's good for 25 years! I was amazed, and I told the worker behind the counter that, "Wow, this license lasts forever." He chuckled. I was so glad and relieved that it passed without a hitch. Tucson doesn't have Motor Vehicle offices every five miles like in Michigan and New York. There's only three or four here, and they're spread pretty far out.

So in short, if you're transsexual and moving to Tucson, changing your license over is a snap. For now, anyway. They're always changing the rules, it seems. And I have no idea if this applies to Arizona outside of Tucson. Tucson is pretty LGBT-friendly, so it may be easier here than in Phoenix, for example.

Here's some pictures of my various driver licenses through the years. Now I just need a passport. Passports with one's "preferred" gender have have recently been made much easier to obtain.

Unfortunately, that's really the only thing that seems to have come easily in Tucson. Our car died on us again. Let's see. Due to the numerous speeding tickets I've obtained since getting here (see my last entry), we haven't paid our rent or phone bill as of yet. We got an eviction notice a few days ago. The phone service was canceled a day later. Nikki had paid the past due balance about an hour ago, but they hadn't turned the phone back on yet. I wanted the car to shop around to see if we could get any rental assistance. We hate asking for help like that, but the alternative is bye-bye apartment and hello street! I was driving Nikki to work so I could use the car. I noticed that the temperature gauge was all the way up on "hot." We stopped to put some coolant in. There was immediately a puddle on the ground under the car. It had all poured out!

Nikki had just gotten this job the week before and she didn't want to get fired, so we drove part of the way there and bought more coolant, since now the needle was sticking straight up, way past the final line. It poured out. Nikki had some bottles of water for lunch, so she poured those in there. About a mile from her employer, the car died. At a light, in the middle of the road. There we were, with two kids in the car, no working phone, and stuck in the middle of the road. The only number we could call was 911. I called them, and a car had soon arrived. He pushed the car off to the side of the road with his car, and he called a tow truck and a taxi for us. Nikki was able to charge the towing on her debit card. We didn't have enough for the taxi, or so I thought. I still had the money order for my defensive driving class, and it wasn't filled out, meaning I could cash it back in and retrieve the money I spent for it (minus a dollar or however much they charge for the service).

So, after having the taxi driver take us down to Nikki's employer so she could explain why she had to take off work today, we had him drive us to a post office near our home. I ran in with the money order, and was told that they just opened and didn't have enough cash in their drawers yet. Aggghhh! The taxi was waiting outside, with no other way to pay him! But then some man came in and bought a money order himself, for some large sum of money. Now they had enough cash to give me. I cashed the money order, he drove us home, and we paid him. $40 plus tip for the taxi, $53 for the towing, and oh yes, $22 on two gallons of coolant that spilled out as fast as we could put it in.

I walked down to the auto shop that we had the car towed to (since the phones were still not on!). It was a good four mile walk in 100 degree heat. I made a lot of stops to drink water, or pour it on my head. I'm sure steam rose up off my noggin! I got some Gatorade on the way back too, for energy and electrolytes. That stuff works! I haven't had it for over ten years, but wow they made it tastier, and it rejuvenated me quite a bit. Oh, and the auto shop let me use their phone to call AT&T and get our service turned back on.

The repair cost us a pretty penny (all we had left plus some help from my mother - again, ugh, I hate bothering and inconveniencing her), since it was some metal part of the line that feeds the coolant from one part of the engine to the other. It had been rubbing against the bottom of the car since it made, apparently, and eventually a hole formed. Great engineering there, Mercury makers! The way the piece is jammed against the bottom, well, it just jacked the labor up sky high. Unfortunately, I have to take them at their word, since I know jack about cars.

The moral of the story: This car is killing us! Okay, that's not really a moral, but we really need a break here.

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Success! (Blast From the Past Entry)

Here it is, my third and final entry in my "Name Change Saga." Quote unquote. I had the same problem in Michigan last summer, in getting a female designation on my driver license. You can read about it here. I've added my NY license near the bottom of this post. It hasn't expired yet, but the worker cut a notch off of it when I got my Michigan license. I guess you can't have a license in more than one state at a time. Too bad, I really like the way the photo came out.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

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Current mood: drained

I had a bad experience at the DMV a week ago. As you may know from my previous blogs, I have had my name legally changed to Amy. With the court order in hand, I went to the DMV in Medford. Bad move. The clerk said he had to talk to his supervisor, and to have a seat. We waited for 10 to 15 minutes. He came back with the supervisor and they said that in order to change the designation for "sex" on the license, they needed a letter from the surgeon who performed the sex reassignment surgery. That would be difficult as I haven't had that done! She was very rude when I told her that others have had the sex changed to F without a problem. She said that they were wrong for doing so, or something like that. I was seeing red. After all the time taken off of work so I can get this done, I get this nasty bitch trying to fuck it up. Like I'm really going to walk around with a license saying "Amy" and a female photo... with "Sex: M."

Then I went to get my Social Security card changed. The man there told me the same thing. I was very upset by this point. I called my therapist and she said that's the status quo with Social Security, but she was surprised about the DMV. She told me to to go to another DMV.

Two days ago, I went to the Amityville DMV. The man had some confusion with the court papers ("No divorce or marriage papers?"), and kept messing up the new name (the first time he kept the old name, and the second time he spelled my last name wrong), but they gave me the F with no problem! Yay! So I have this little paper interim license that I keep looking at constantly. I love it. My real license comes in two to three weeks. I can't wait to see the picture!

Then I went to my bank, and changed my name on my account. After that I went to my insurance company to change my name there as well. While I was there, I changed my address to the new Michigan address. It feels so good to just be myself. Something that should be taken for granted is instead something I had to work for. But it was well worth it. After five long years of heading down this path, I am finally free to be me.

Currently reading:
Spectre of the Black Rose (Ravenloft Terror of Lord Soth, Vol. 2)
By James Lowder
Release date: 01 March, 1999

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Current Events

So what's new lately? I'll try to tackle the important stuff while also keeping this entry from becoming monstrous. Two years ago, I moved from New York to Michigan to be with the love of my life, Nikki. How that all happened is a story for another time, but we have been together for 2.5 years. We have been engaged since last Valentine's Day. Her three kids accept me as their "other mommy," for the most part. They are: Sarah, 10 years old; Savannah, 8 years old; and Skylar, 3 years old. Right now the older two are in New York visiting their father. We'll be going there ourselves at the end of the month, and coming back here with Sarah and Savannah after spending three days there. Oh fun, fun! Yes, they deserve to see their father and his family, but many of his family just don't approve of Nikki and I. You see, not only did it seem as if Nikki left him for me (it's just not that cut and dry), but they all know I'm transgendered. Another story for another time!

Since moving here, I have tried on and off to find work. The frustrating thing is that there are no computer-related jobs out here. There aren't many jobs here at all, but it's very rare that I will find an ad for any computer position. Too bad I have a loan for a Computer Tech course to pay off. During the "off" times, I have filled the role of "stay-at-home-mom" for our youngest one. It has it's rewards of course, but I really do want to get back to work. Nikki works as a substitute teacher, but we are scraping by. I had an interview last week for an alarm dispatcher position at an alarm company. The man who interviewed me seemed impressed with my background, but was confused by the fact that I had lived here two years with no job, and I still did not have a Michigan driver's license (getting there in a sec!). He is now not returning my calls, so I can only guess he has filled the position, and maybe found out or guessed at my background.

Yes, I had my name changed just before the move, but the records are not sealed. I would love to have the records sealed! Alas, I don't think it's an option. I also changed my driver's license and social security card right before leaving New York. Those are also stories I will get to at some point, but for now, I would like to convey my story of getting my Michigan license.

I tried getting my hands on that license some time ago. I went into the Michigan Secretary of State office (DMV doesn't handle that here, weird huh?) with all the required paperwork. I needed my NY license, my social security card, my birth certificate, and thus the court documents for my name change as well. Oh yes, and I also needed two (2) proofs of residency. I brought a bank statement and the lease for the apartment Nikki and I live in. I should have been golden, right? Wrong-o. I got an older lady who looks as if she's going to pass out, after getting over her initial confusion. Looking at the birth certificate, she said, "Oh, you've given me someone else's birth certificate. This can't be you." I was flattered, but showed her the name change order. "That was my old name, and I had it changed, as you can see here..." She looked at the documents, looked at me, then back at the documents, then declared, "I'll be back in just a moment."

I waited for quite a bit. Probably ten (10) minutes. She came back with someone else in tow. Oh no. Oh yes, the supervisor. I've learned the hard way that once the supervisor gets involved, it's all over. To her credit, she was very polite and respectful. "I'm sorry, we can put your current name on the license with no problem at all, but we can't put the "F" for "Female" without a certain form from your doctor, stating that you've had surgery."

Not just any surgery, mind you! And now it's a form, as I've since heard repeated at a local transgender support group that I went to the following week. Has anyone seen this form? It seems like some top secret document, to be seen by only doctors and DMV (or Secretary of State). Because you know us trans-folk, we can be devious when we have to be.

I went home in defeat without obtaining the license. I put the problem on the back burner, thinking I'll try a few other offices before giving up to the dreaded "M" for the time being. After my interview last week, I had to try again in order to qualify for the job. I went to another office, and got a friendlier and younger lady this time around. I gave her the birth certificate followed by the name change order. She didn't flinch. All the while, I had my hand hidden below the counter with my fingers crossed. She had me sign the signature that will be on the back of the license, and pose for a photo. She then showed me my temporary license and asked me to make sure everything is correct. I made sure the "F" was there first! Name, address... yup it's all good. "Your permanent license will arrive in the mail in seven to ten days." Done. Thank God. I was so worried about having an "M" on my license and hoping anyone needing to look at it won't notice that little detail. "They made a mistake and put the wrong letter on there! Can you believe that???" So yes, I am rather relieved, to say the least.

And that's all my news for now. I need to work. I need electrolysis on my neck (I've had 50 hours spent on my chin and upper lip, but my neck was barely touched). I need GRS. I want to get married to Nikki. I'll keep plugging away. Work or bust!

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